Part 15
The fragile peace established in the living room did not mean the rest of the world stopped turning.
A few days after the visit, the outer rings of the extended family began to make their opinions known.
Daniel’s phone rang incessantly, filled with calls from aunts, uncles, and cousins who felt entitled to weigh in.
Many in the high-society circle could not understand why Daniel had exposed his own mother to the entire family.
They valued reputation above reality, preferring a beautiful lie over an ugly, violent truth.
Aunt Beatrice, Margaret’s fiercely loyal sister, was the most vocal critic of Daniel's strict boundaries.
She called Daniel late one evening, her sharp voice leaking through the speaker of the phone in the study.
Emily stood by the door, listening to the conversation, her anxiety flaring up once again.
"Daniel, this has gone far enough!" Beatrice barked from the other end. "Your mother is a proud woman, and you have humiliated her!"
"She humiliated herself the moment she put her hands on my wife, Beatrice," Daniel responded, his voice dangerously low.
"You are alienating her from her only grandchild over a family dispute that should have been kept private!" Beatrice countered.
"An assault is not a dispute," Daniel fired back, his tone turning into pure ice, cutting off her attempt to minimize the event.
"If any member of this family attempts to excuse what she did again, you will all find yourselves cut off from my life."
"You would choose an outsider over your own blood?" Beatrice gasped, her voice dripping with indignation and shock.
Daniel didn't hesitate for a single second, his loyalty to Emily absolute and unshakable.
"Emily is my wife. She is the mother of my child. She is my family. Anyone who disrespects her is an outsider to me."
Without waiting for a response, Daniel slammed the phone down onto the desk, breathing heavily as he tried to control his anger.
He turned around and saw Emily standing in the doorway, her eyes shining with unshed tears of profound gratitude.
May you like
He walked over to her, wrapping his strong arms around her shoulders, pulling her close against his chest.
"I won't let them rewrite what happened to you," he whispered into her hair. "Never."
